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Gossinger v. Association of Apartment Owners of Regency of Ala Wai8/25/1992
The plaintiffs-appellants Phyllis Gossinger (Mrs. Gossinger) and Herman Gossinger (collectively the Gossingers) appeal an order granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants-appellees Association of Apartment Owners of the Regency of Ala Wai (the Association) and Carol Sutherland (Sutherland) on the Gossingers' negligence claim arising out of a slip and fall accident in their apartment. The Gossingers also appeal an order denying their motion for reconsideration of the summary judgment. We affirm both orders.
I.
On the morning of June 8, 1988, Mrs. Gossinger slipped and fell on soapy water that had flooded the bathroom floor of the apartment the Gossingers had rented from Sutherland, a member of the Association. Immediately after the accident, Mrs. Gossinger drove herself to the Queen's Medical Center (QMC) Emergency Room (ER) where the ER physician on duty examined her. Various diagnostic tests, including x-rays, were performed. Based on the examination and test results, the ER physician concluded that Mrs. Gossinger had suffered a back strain, which he advised her "would take a long time to heal." The ER physician advised Mrs. Gossinger to rest and swim in order to aid her recovery. He also advised her to have a follow-up examination at the beginning of the following week -- or sooner if her condition worsened.
The next day, June 9, 1988, the Gossingers wrote to the Association demanding compensation for personal injury and property damage caused by the flooding incident. In their letter (the demand letter), the Gossingers stated:
We would like compensation for the personal injury and mental stress that your company has put us through.
This includes:
3 months back Rent at 600. per mo $1800.00
1 Bathroom Scale . . . $107.00
Physical Injury & Mental Stress 600.00
Total $2507.00
We will wait five (5) working for a response. If nothing is done to compensate us we will take legal action immediately!
(Reproduced as in original.) Three days later, on June 12, 1988, Mark Kochi, an insurance adjuster for State Farm Insurance Company (State Farm), the Association's general liability insurance carrier, met with the Gossingers to settle their claims as set forth in the demand letter. As a result of the meeting, the Gossingers settled their claims for the sum of $1,100.00 and signed a release form (the release) drafted by State Farm, which provided:
For the Sole Consideration of [$1,100.00], the receipt and sufficiency whereof is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned [Gossingers] hereby releases and forever discharges [the Association], their heirs, executors, administrators, agents and assigns, and all other persons, firms or corporations liable or who might be claimed liable, . . . from any and all claims, demands, damages, actions, causes of action or suits of any kind or nature whatsoever, and particularly on account of all injuries, known and unknown, both to person and property, which have resulted or may in the future develop from an accident which occurred on or about the 9th day of June 1988. . . .
(Emphasis added.)
The record reflects that the Gossingers read the release before voluntarily signing it. On the face of the release, the settlement sum included compensation for Mrs. Gossinger's claimed injury. When the Gossingers executed the release Mrs. Gossinger was still suffering from back pain, and the Gossingers knew that Mrs. Gossinger had not fully recovered from her back injury. In their demand letter, as noted above, the Gossingers had threatened to "take legal action immediately" against the Assoc
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